Move Towards Equality

First of all, let me start by congratulating Oregon and
Pennsylvania for struck down the ban on marriage equality. They
did a great job on making the best decision for our future
generation. Things like this make me believe that one day full
equality will be achieved. I have hope that one day we all will
be able to share the joy of acceptance and be happy without
prejudices and judgements.

I remember back when I was still in school, I had a gay friend.
He was constantly bullied for being too feminine. He was always
the outcast. He would tell me how that situation upset him and
how he wished for everybody to be nice to him.

I stood up for him a couple of times. I comfort him when he was
in agony. I told my friends that we should accept people for who
they really are. I started to educate them more about the LGBT
community. No matter what I did, I would insert a message on
equality into it.

Some would ask me why I kept protecting him. Is it because I’m
gay myself? My answer was and still is simple. Everybody deserves
love. Just because I’m protecting the LGBT community doesn’t mean
that I’m gay. It means that I’m a loving and compassionate
person. Sometimes, people need our support to be stronger and
braver.

Day by day, I saw the changes with my own bare eyes. My friends
were more accepting of who he was. Prejudice began to deplete to
non-existence. As the result, he began to carve a smile on his
face every day. That was my reward. I’d asked for nothing but a
smile.

People asked me, “Aren't you scared to be an outcast because of
your fight?” I told them that I may or may not be an outcast but
that doesn’t worry me. I’ve heard people saying bad things about
me because of this. People kept throwing their sticks and stones.
I will never back down because I am doing the right thing.

My fellow youth, we are the new generation that will one day
inherit the world. We don’t want a homophobic community bully
our LGBT friends. We can make a difference. We can be the icon of
peace, equality and love. Let us be the dawn of mankind to be
respectful and loving despite of one’s sexual orientation.

One day, our children will ask us what do we did when we were
young. Would you rather answer “We bullied the gays” or “We stand
for the gays”? What would you rather be remembered as? The bully
or the one who stand up against bullying. The choice is in our
hands to move forward equality.